Monday, 1 December 2014

Stop Giving Excuses! You Will Have No Reason After Reading This – Basanti

Situations don’t get as inspiring as this one. The following story is a great example of women who don’t give up, no matter what they face. If anything it should be a lesson to everyone that anything is truly possible.

Basanti

Basanti is a para-teacher at Rodaband Secondary school. What exactly makes this interesting? She was born without hands. In a ruthless world Basanti had to undergo difficult challenges from the start. In fact, her disability was so severe that people told her parents that they should kill her or at least get rid of her. This is probably one of the most unsettling things any parent can hear. Instead they chose to keep her, but not send her to school. The reason they kept her from going to school was based on the fact that she wouldn’t be able to write.

However, Basanti wasn’t satisfied with this decision. After a great amount of pleading, she convinced her mother to start teaching her at home. Homeschooling for Basanti started at the age of 6 and a few years later she learnt how to write by using her feet. In 1993 she passed her senior high school exams then went on to study further. This resulted in her becoming a contractual teacher. She writes on the blackboard like all the other teachers and checks homework, all by using her feet.

Just imagine how hard it must have been for her to learn to write with her feet? Now increase the difficulty by writing on a blackboard. Simply keeping your balance is hard enough. In addition to all these challenges she had to face, Basanti is the sole provider in their home currently. Her father is retired and she has taken on the responsibility of feeding the family, as well as helping her eldest sister get married.

Beating All Odds

This story isn’t meant to be sad or to generate empathy. Instead it’s a story of hope and beating all the odds. Basanti had all the reasons in the world to hide within the walls of her home, but she chose to confront the world with everything she had. For those of us who have the luxury of all our limbs, we forget how easy it makes our path. For the most part we take it for granted. Basanti is living proof that life could’ve been a whole lot worse, although it wouldn’t be an excuse not to try our best. Let the choices Basanti made inspire you to grab every opportunity with both hands, and feet.